Erosion Director's Cut
by mojor
Summary: Chapters 29 and 41 to be read alongside 'Erosion'. The M rated chapters that just HAD to happen. A more intimate portrayal of the progression of their relationship.
1. Chapter 28 Together

**A/N-** This is the complete M chapter that replaces FFnet chapter 29 (or 28 according to my chapter titles) and can be read instead of the other chapter i posted tonight. And it's a long one!

If you've not read Erosion from the beginning- DON'T CHEAT! Get your lovely self over to .net/s/7859049/1/Erosion and read from the start like everyone else had to! Hopefully you won't be disappointed.

It was my intention to challenge myself to write a totally T rated fic (love scenes and all) but having finished this scene it just didn't feel complete and i put off posting it, and ummed and ahhed and eventually, with 90min before i intended to just post it anyway, i asked for a second opinion (god bless Twitter!)

The end result is two versions. One to satisfy my personal challenge (and i hope it still feels intimate and if anyone at all bothers to read the T version i'd love to hear if you think it feels complete as it stands) and the other is the extended director's cut! dedicated to Madsthenerdygirl and Trish and everyone else that pretty much clamoured for the sexy-times ;)

The T version is age-appropriate-ish for older teenagers IMO (but i really have no clue).  
>The M version is for an adult audience but is (i believe) character and relationship-appropriate so if you're just avoiding M cos you don't want a smut-fest then i think it's still okay. ? maybe ?<p>

Huge thanks to Deb whose input, in my opinion, made this even more delicious. Seriously. Good times! *snort* If i was you i'd be signing up for author alerts from Deb838 cos if she ever posts anything here it's gonna be good!

Apologies for this huge author's note ramble, but there will be no note from me at the end of this! LOL! ;)

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><p><strong>Erosion<strong>  
>Chapter 28- Together<p>

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><p>Kate could feel the weight of his thoughts even as she lay against him, face buried in the warmth of his neck, surrounded by the scent of him. His hands ran slow soothing lines along the length of her back from her neck to the curve of her hip. Even as his sure strokes calmed her anxiety they created a knot of tension in her belly. She ran her hand along his side and up over his chest, and timed the press of her lips to his ear with the tangle of her fingers at the top button of his shirt. His breath caught and the hand on her back stilled.<p>

Kate undid first one button, and then another, enough to slip her hand inside his shirt and sucked the lobe of his ear into her mouth, running her teeth over him until only her lips were left to soothe the sensitive skin.

He groaned at the sensation, chest muscles flexing under her palm, and she rolled into him, her leg falling between his as she pressed herself against his thigh.

"Come home with me," she growled into his ear.

"Kate, you're not making this easy," he said, his voice rough. His hands gripped her hips and he fought the instinct to rock their pelvises together. "I can't think when we're like this."

"Then stop thinking."

"It's been twenty-four hours since we first kissed, maybe forty if you count your accidental half-asleep kiss, that's not what I call giving ourselves a chance to catch up."

"Not exactly our _first _kiss," she reminded him, knowing full well he hadn't forgotten. "Besides, it's been too long since I first _wanted_ to kiss you, and I'm all caught up."

"Kate." He ran the pad of his thumb over her brow in a soft caress, silently questioning her conviction.

"No, unless _you're _not ready, Castle? Because this is what I need from you. This is what I need to give to you. I want you, Castle – all of you – please don't make me have to keep asking."

The last of his resolve crumbled with the weight of emotion in her voice. He knew he had a choice; to either assuage his own guilt and tell her now about everything he'd hidden from her whilst she was at her most vulnerable, and risk their future, or he could wait and hope that the bonds they were now forging together would be enough to get them through should he continue to keep the truth from her for just a little while longer.

He closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Let me get my toothbrush and my jacket," he whispered.

###

She wished they could have taken a cab instead of her having to drive the squad car. Once Castle lifted the brakes he didn't stop moving, and his hand on her leg made concentrating impossible. It had started at her knee, deliciously soft figure eights that looped from her patella to the inside of her leg, before he inched higher up her thigh and it took all of her self control to stop herself from increasing the gap between her thighs to let him in.

Instead she bit down on her lip and let the tickle and tingle of his caress flood her. The drive to her apartment seemed to take forever.

He crowded into her back as they stood in the elevator; one hand around her stomach, the other clutching his overnight bag. Kate wanted to lift her arms to loop backwards around his neck, to press her backside into him and have him kiss her neck. But she doubted her own ability to stop it at that. She knew she would end up grinding into him, demanding his hand at her breast. So she reached behind herself to steady his hips against her, delighting in the sensation of him brushing faintly against her and the proof of his arousal.

Kate pressed a hand to his chest when they got to her door, holding him an arm's length away, as she dug in her bag for her keys. She had them inside in a moment, and she dropped her bag and keys to the floor. Rick placed his bag down, and they stood together, not touching – eyes never straying – as they removed their shoes and jackets. Rick held out his hand for her coat, and then he hung them together in her hall closet. With his bag in hand once more, he waited while Kate removed her badge and gun and stored them in the kitchen drawer at the bottom of the stairs. Neither spoke as they climbed the steps to her bedroom together, hand in hand.

The curtains were open onto the cityscape and the room was lit with the red and golden lights of the surrounding skyscrapers. It painted the bed and the bookshelves and the huge wall canvas in a tableau of light and shadow and, as much as Rick would have liked to look around – his first glimpse of Kate's private domain – his eyes barely left the woman in front of him.

Kate stood facing him, her back to the bed, as she undid the buttons of her shirt. Her eyes were dark and wide as she watched him watch her. Rick stood enthralled as each button came undone revealing pale skin and dark lace. He wanted to watch her face, see the play of emotions – desire and delight; her own hunger for him and the enjoyment he knew she got from seeing him so lost in her – but the movement of her fingers, the twist and splay of each inch of her shirt, drew him in like nothing he'd ever experienced.

A small part of his brain wondered at the way she affected him – it was hardly the first time a woman had undressed for him – but this was Kate, and she was standing in front of him, smiling the most wonderful of secret smiles, hair tousled, eyes dark; he couldn't ever remember being more aroused by anyone in his life.

He wanted to step into her, kiss her, run his hands along the skin that she was revealing to him, but that would mean sacrificing the previously only imagined vision of her slowly undressing for him. So he stood anchored, chest heaving, lips parted, as she undid the final button, dropped her arms, and let her shirt fall to pool at her ankles.

It wasn't until she reached behind her back to undo her bra that he stepped forward, a tiny growl of 'no', and he raised his hand to skim along the smooth skin of her shoulder, taking the strap of her bra with him to fall over the curve of her arm.

He kissed her then, hot and hard, tongues delving deep as they finally gave in to their desire. He explored the expanse of skin at her back, cupped his hands to glide up the length of her side, stopping at the line of her bra before stroking her through the thin fabric. Kate arched into him, desperate to have his hands on her; the catch of breath and answering moan could have belonged to either of them.

Rick reached behind her with one hand and undid the clasp of her bra, his other hand never leaving the curve of her breast. He wanted his own shirt gone, wanted skin on skin, but couldn't contemplate abandoning the satin smooth curves to complete the task.

"Off," Kate complained, tugging at his clothes. "I need this off." Her hands worked at the buttons of his shirt briefly, before she changed her mind and, instead, undid the buckle of his belt, tugging hard at the leather to pull it fully from the loops of his pants, before popping the button of his jeans and pulling the zipper wide.

Kate had the buttons and zip of her own pants undone in an instant and, as she shimmied them down the long length of her legs, Rick did the same, pulling his socks off as he went.

Standing in only her underwear Kate grabbed the sides of Rick's open shirt and tugged him back towards the bed. She placed one knee behind herself, and then fell backwards pulling him with her. He landed on top of her and she laughed at his grunt, brought her legs around him and rolled him over until she was bent over him, straddling his hips, her hair falling around his face.

Rick brought his hands up to tangle in her hair, scraping it back over her ears to hold it away from her face before he pulled her down to him to capture her lips in another kiss.

Kate bent her arms to keep her hands splayed across him, enjoying the solid feel of his shoulders and the flex of muscle across his chest. When she came to the barrier of his clothing she broke away from his kiss, took the ends of his shirt and lifted it up his back, forcing him to lift off the bed and pulled it from his arms. Kate resisted his attempt to pull her back down, instead she sat back on him and trailed her fingertips over the line of his clavicle, and then down the centre of his chest.

His hands settled at her hips, thumbs stroking the crease of her thigh, fingers curled to hint at touching the curve of her bottom. She watched his face as she explored him, teased goosebumps from his skin and left a trail of fire in her wake.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and the sincerity and gratitude in her expression made him shake his head, "You can not seriously be thanking me for this?"

Her lips curved in the hint of a smile, and she shrugged. "I told you I'd follow where you led, but I didn't. I made this about what I wanted."

Rick loosened his hold of her hips and brushed both hands along the tops of her thighs to the curve of her bended knee, and then stroked back up again. "You told me what you needed, and what_ I_ need is for you to keep doing that."

"Even if it's not what you want?" she asked.

"You think I don't want this as badly as you?" He chuckled at the too-serious expression she wore. "I will never get enough of this – of you – I want everything you'll give me." His hands left her thighs to glide up over her stomach.

Kate lifted onto her knees and leaned over him again. "And I want to give you everything," she exhaled against the skin of his cheek, her sigh sounding in his ear, before she turned to glide her lips sideways across his mouth, the mere suggestion of a kiss.

His voice was just as breathless, but he was smiling when he replied, "We're not even completely naked and already we're perfect in bed."

"Mmmm, we'll see." She laughed deep in her throat. "Why don't you stop talking and put your money where your mouth is."

"Forget the money, I'd rather use my mouth," he said, and his hands gripped the curve of her ribs, lifting her along his body as he bent his head; his mouth went immediately to her breast.

Her spine arched as her head tipped back and she growled out her agreement. "I'd much rather you use your mouth like that too," she panted. With one hand holding his head to her chest Kate rolled onto her side, the hook of her leg drawing his body to follow. "I've always liked your mouth."

With a slow swipe of his tongue Rick left her breast and brought his head up beside hers, a pleased grin shaping his lips, "Really? You like my mouth?"

"I'd like it a whole lot more at the moment if it were doing something other than talking," Kate pretended to protest.

"Ah, that's not true, Detective," he teased her. "I _know_ you like the sound of my voice."

Kate wrapped her arm around his waist in a hug and bent her leg to slide her foot to the back of his knee, nudging his leg between hers. "Then let me hear you; talk to me, Castle."

Rick pressed his elbow into the mattress and lifted his torso off the bed just enough to tilt over her, his cheek skimming hers, the slight scratch of stubble over the silk of her skin. "Do you want to hear how incredibly badly I want you right now?"

"Mmmm," she encouraged him with a moan.

"How the feel of you against me, my hands on your skin, the way you move; how much it makes me ache. Is that what you want me to tell you?"

Kate's fingers twitched against his back and a shiver ran through her. She turned her head, her eyes closed, and let her open mouth rest against his lips; feeling his words.

"Or that your kisses, the feel of your mouth, the glide of your tongue; it makes me want to taste you so badly. Even now, the way we are –" He pressed his hand over the curve of her breast. "You're exquisite, but I can think of nothing but having my tongue against you."

"Oh, god, Castle." Kate arched into him, his words painting a picture that set her on fire.

Her hand moved to glide over the satin of his boxer shorts and she rolled her hips. She swallowed the sound of his moan, effectively silencing him as she captured his mouth and refused to let go.

Together they shed the last of the barriers between them and, as skin met skin, they lost themselves in exploration and discovery; both finding something they'd always hoped was there but never been brave enough to reach for.

Kate's hands skimmed over him; not knowing where to touch him first. She let her hands roam over his back and around to his stomach, scratching her fingernails over his heated skin. One thumb dug into the furrow of his hip and she teased her way across him; leaving him panting in her ear. His hips followed her hand, seeking her touch, and he settled between her legs. She smiled into his skin, and massaged her way around his body to cup his arse and pull him into her, before letting her fingers lightly trace the curve of him and glide over the crease between his cheeks.

Rick moaned into her neck and his hands grew bolder. Moulding and squeezing her breasts he kissed his way back to her mouth leaving a wet trail along her throat. She tightened her legs around him, holding on, having no choice but to give all her attention to his mouth and his kisses.

Rick's hand left her breast to caress its way down her side, past her hip, to the back of her knee. He lifted her leg to settle more closely against his waist, and curled his fingers around to the inside of her thigh as he trailed back up. He didn't stop when he reached the contour between her legs, and even before he touched her Kate knew how wet he'd find her.

Their mouths stilled against each other as his fingers slid through her folds. Kate's arms came around to clutch at him as she surged into his hand, his name escaping in a growl. He moaned into her mouth, amazed at her response to him. His kisses grew frantic, his tongue plundered her mouth, and Kate tilted her neck back in surrender.

Kate became aware of how forcefully she was gripping him and forced her hands to relax. She curled one arm under his to circle the back of his shoulder, tracing the hard line of his trapezius to the ridge of his scapula, feeling the flex and ripple of his muscles. Her other hand grasped his neck, fingers kneading in time with the undulation of her hips.

Kate wanted desperately to touch him, but the dance of his fingers through the satin warmth of her centre was intoxicating. When her stomach clenched and she came dangerously close to losing control she reached for his hand, dragging him away, and tilted her hips sideways.

Interlocking their fingers Kate brought their joined hands to her mouth and kissed his fingertips; tongue swirling and teeth nibbling across the pads of his fingers before sucking them into her mouth. For four years his fingers had tapped out the story of their alter-egos and she wondered how often he'd imagined them together as they were now – finally.

Rick watched her through hooded eyes; focused solely on her mouth and the movement of her tongue. He couldn't help but imagine what magic she could perform on other, increasingly insistent, parts of him.

With her mouth still tantalising his fingers, Kate dropped her other hand to where he pressed against the inside of her leg. She cupped him, squeezing his balls briefly, before wrapping her fingers around his cock and, with a firm hand, drew along the length of him, smoothing her thumb across his tip. Rick's head fell to the pillow, his face pressed into the curve of her shoulder, and a tremor ran through his body.

Kate repeated the movement, slow strokes over him that had him groaning in her ear and his hips rocking against her hand. With his eyes squeezed shut, teeth clenched, Rick lifted onto his knees, and Kate's hand fell away. He inched up her body, found both her hands and lifted them above her head.

He slowly shook his head at her in awe, mouth twitching with a smile, "I'm not done with you yet," he told her, as he watched the hunger and desire burning in her eyes. Seeing the affect he was having on her made something in his chest expand as he felt the balance of power shift.

He kept her arms pinned above her head, and she allowed it. He dropped his kisses to her breast once more, tweaking and pulling the nipple into his mouth with his lips and his teeth. Kate knew how close she was to orgasm, and as much as she wanted the night to last forever she couldn't stop her body from arching into him, desperate for his mouth on her.

She twisted her wrist out of his grasp and he grunted in protest.

"Bedside cabinet," she panted, her hand reaching blindly for the drawer.

He saw where she was reaching and he leaned over the bed to help. He opened the top drawer and fumbled inside, found a familiar feeling packet and pressed it into her palm, returning immediately to her other breast. He ran his tongue along the underside of her, flicked over her nipple and then pressed a loving kiss against her sternum. He couldn't help but feather another gentle kiss over the scar above her breast but he didn't pause or allow his mind to drift from the vision of her beneath him. He trailed a path along the centre of her body; knees shuffling down the bed. He stopped to scrape his teeth over her belly button, and nibble at the curve of her stomach, while deepening his grasp at her sides, before he turned his head to follow the valley of her hip down the inside of her leg.

He moved leisurely, gliding his lips over her inner thigh before dipping his tongue to find the inside of her folds, teasing her; slow strokes that had her writhing, desperate for him to find her centre. Kate clutched at the blankets, hands gripping and pulling at the bedclothes, gasping for breath from the sheer pleasure that wove its way through her body. She wanted to wrap her hands around his head and pull him tight against her, instead she threw one leg over his back and rocked her hips, using the pressure of her foot to encourage him deeper into her.

"I want you inside me, Castle," she panted, needing to feel them fused together. She was so close to orgasm and she wanted him there with her.

"Mmmmm... not just yet. Come for me, Kate," he murmured, the vibration of his words travelling through her. He finally stopped teasing and found her clitoris with his tongue and his lips and his teeth. He sucked her into his mouth and moaned against her; overcome with the scent and taste of her, the slippery heat against his tongue.

Kate let go of the blankets and her hands flew to his head; one hand against his cheek, the other to tangle in his hair. He didn't stop with his open mouth kisses against her and she felt the delicious build and swirl of tension in her stomach until she was panting and rocking against him.

"Oh, god, your mouth!" she cried out, and she could feel his laugh against her.

His thumb dipped to circle at the edge of her opening and he sucked at her again, drawing her fully into his mouth and then flattening his tongue over her. Kate's hips came off the bed and she shuddered against him, a long low moan reverberating in her chest. He felt her pulsating against his tongue; and though he couldn't have imagined it was possible, his desire for her grew even more.

Rick didn't let go, he kept his mouth on her, circling around the outside of her clit to draw out her orgasm. Her hips kept circling, and her breath came fast and shallow.

Using the grip she had on his hair she tugged at him roughly, dragging him up her body to her mouth. She kissed her wetness from his face, her arms around his neck, her legs encircling his hips. His cock pressed insistently against her and she wanted to feel them move together.

She moaned with impatience as she felt around on the bed for the abandoned condom. Rick beat her to it, and he tilted his head and used his teeth to tear the packet open. He sat back on his haunches to slide the condom on, and Kate took advantage of the opportunity to watch him, her eyes roamed over him, loving the site of him kneeling between her legs; the sheen of sweat across his chest, the red flush of his cheeks, the overwhelming proof of his need for her.

She scratched her fingernails over his nipples and watched his stomach muscles clench in response. When he leaned over her again she shook her head, kissed the side of his face and, with her hand on his shoulder, she spun them over.

With him lying beneath her she draped her body over him, kept her weight on bended arms to hover so that only the ends of her hair, the peaks of her breasts, and her stomach brushed against him. His erection bumped at her hip and she slid over him, lowering herself until he was trapped between their bodies.

She looked him in the eye; holding him there, daring him to move as she shifted slowly, back and forth, then dipped her head to his nipples; sucking on the left nipple, before catching her bottom teeth across the hardened nub, then shifting to the right. At the same time pressing into and shifting away from the hardness between her legs.

She balanced her weight on her knees and the knuckles of one hand, and reached for him with the other. Holding the base of him steady, she pressed him into her; circling the tip of him around her already engorged clitoris. His breath came in a series of low moans and short puffs as she rocked above him, her breasts swaying. Rick couldn't resist the temptation to cup her, feel the weight of her breasts fall onto his palms.

Rick's eyes were glazed, lids heavy, his gaze focused on her even as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Kate was amazed at his self control. He rocked and circled against her, and she could feel the tension in his thighs beneath her, the heavy throb and twitch of him against her palm, but his hands never stopped in his caresses as he sought to bring her with him again.

Kate guided him to her entrance and leaned back into him only enough to have him slip just inside her before she held still. Rick's hips stopped moving and his eyes fell closed, an open mouthed gasp escaping from him. His hands tightened briefly at her breasts, and then one fell to her hip, closing around her side with his fingers pressing into her.

"I'm gone the minute you're around me, Kate," he panted, his thumb moving roughly over her skin to find her clitoris. He used the hand at her chest to hold her weight above him, his other hand frantic between their bodies.

Kate's head dropped forward, her eyes closed, and she spread her knees to fall onto him. He slid into her in one smooth movement, and she ground her hips hard against him; delighting in the uncomfortable pressure of him filling her.

With a strangled growl Rick's eyes flew open and he arched into her; unable to restrain himself any longer. Kate was hot and tight around him, his thumb slipped over her, slick and wet, and he was lost in the sight of her riding him; mouth open, eyes closed, hair tumbling across her naked shoulders.

With both hands tight at the base of her hips, hands splayed to circle her, he anchored her against him and thrust into her.

She cried out, her hands coming up to squeeze her own breasts, "Again, Castle. Don't stop," she pleaded. He didn't need any further encouragement.

Their pelvises fused and rocked together, slipping and grinding, and Rick couldn't hold himself in check any longer. He throbbed and groaned his release, a white-hot burn of ecstasy that left him gasping and his vision dimming. He tried to direct what remained of his conscious thought to keeping his thumb moving against her.

The sense of power she felt at Castle's orgasm was enough to bring her to climax again, and she convulsed against him, her muscles contracting, prolonging his pleasure. She stayed above him as they rode out the aftershocks, and then she flopped gracelessly on top of him. His laughter greeted her and he dropped kisses across her shoulder, the only part of her he could reach without moving.

"Extraordinary," he sighed, breathless.

She could barely find the energy to moan her agreement.

###

Rick woke as the first of the sun's early morning light lit the room. Kate lay pressed against him, gloriously naked, and the dawn bathed her skin in shades of grey; a portrait in black and white. The sheets lay tangled around their hips and knees where they'd been abandoned when finally they'd slept.

Lying with her felt surreal, as if any moment he would wake from a dream and find himself alone. Despite promises to wait, and the light that had ever so gradually crept into her eyes over past months, he'd never rid himself of the doubts; never managed to escape the fear that maybe, maybe, his love for her wasn't enough.

His eyes travelled the length of her, drawn to the mesh of their limbs, the contour of them wrapped together. He refused to even consider the possibility that this was all they would ever have, and he made a silent vow that he would fight not only to defend her, but to defend what they could be together.

Overheated skin had cooled overnight and Rick's hand was drawn to the pebbled expanse of skin beneath him. He trailed his palm lightly over her shoulder, and then down her arm, skimming over the peak of her breast, past the faint pink scar almost invisible in the pale glow of morning. Her body responded to his touch, and by the time he reached the flat plane of her stomach she was rolling into him.

Kate's arms came around his waist and she kissed at the skin of his upper chest; open mouthed, teeth nibbling.

He felt, more than heard, the murmur of her morning greeting against his skin.

Rick resisted the urge to close his eyes and instead he trailed his fingertips from the curve of her hip along the length of her spine and watched as a trail of goosebumps rose along her skin. She shivered when he reached her neck and let out a hum of approval.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Yes, but you're warm," she replied, turning her head to rest her cheek upon his chest and laying her leg over him. "And I want to see you." She slid her hand across the solid expanse of his chest and over the swell of his bicep. "I don't get to see this very often."

"Ah, I've been reduced to eye-candy," he teased, as his own hands helped to raise her body temperature.

"Shut up, Castle, I'm trying to concentrate," Kate huffed, and she mapped the curvature of his chest muscles and the taper from shoulder to waist with her hands and her eyes.

"You're concentrating?" he asked, amused.

"Hmmm, when we're at work later today and you're in a button down shirt with your jacket tight across your chest I'm going to look at you and remember this." She stroked and massaged her way across his deltoids and over the smooth curve of his shoulder. "And you're going to know _exactly _what I'm thinking about."

"Then we better make sure to give you plenty to think about."

He rolled her onto her back, bringing his weight down over her, and she wrapped her legs around him.

"This new 'waking up together' arrangement just gets better and better," she replied.

And then they were both too busy to talk.

###

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><p>.<p>

**A/N**- Thud! Leave a review.


	2. Chapter 41 The Requisite Couch Scene

Thank you all so much for the feedback!

And thanks again to Deb for the heavy breathing.

This continues straight on from this chapter of Erosion - 'Everything' www. fanfiction. net/s/7859049/41/Erosion (remove the spaces after the dots) or find it on my profile.  
>Personally, I don't think this chapter means half as much read alone as it would if you'd read the rest of the story... so don't cheat!<p>

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><p><strong>Erosion<strong>  
>Chapter 41 - The Requisite Couch Scene.<p>

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><p>He wanted to ignore the buzzer. With her lips and tongue teasing his, the play of her hands across his back under his shirt, the gentle rock and tilt of her hips; the last thing on his mind was dinner.<p>

It seemed he'd hardly had time to forget the first ring when it was buzzing again, drawing a moan of protest from the woman beneath him, and he considered dragging himself away from her. The sooner he answered the door, the sooner the delivery guy would leave, and the sooner they could get back to... more important things.

And yet...

Her hips tilted again, in time with the rhythm of her kiss, and he couldn't think of anything else but the way they fit together.

The third, impatient, jabbing buzz finally had her pulling away. He felt keenly the loss of her hands at his back. The gentle caress as they slid around to his chest to push him away just made him want to pull her even closer.

She smiled, lips kissed red, a sheen of moisture across her mouth, and he wanted to dive straight back in. Instead he sat up and tried to compose himself before the long walk to the front door.

The sight of her reclining on the lounge; the knot of her hair having long since come undone, robe askew, eyes dark – it pulled at him.

He ran his hand down the centre of her chest, spreading the robe to reveal her breast, and dropped to her again. He laved the flat of his tongue across her, felt her pebble beneath him, the hitch of her chest as her breath caught, and he angled for another taste. Drawing her nipple into his mouth and sucking, he pressed the tip between his tongue and the back of his teeth.

Her spine arched violently into him, her hand tangling in his hair to hold him against her as she growled out his name.

"I'll leave you to think about that while I get dinner," he mumbled into her skin, receiving another moan; this time one of protest.

He let his fingers skim across her as he tore himself away. The walk to the door was more than a little uncomfortable, his attempt to distract himself with Chinese-dinner-thoughts less than successful.

Kate watched him go for a moment before draping her forearm across her face, covering her eyes. If she didn't combust right here on the couch, the evening was shaping up to surpass all expectations.

The man had staying power, she'd give him that.

She straightened her robe and sat up. The movement put far more pressure between her legs than she thought she could handle, and she briefly entertained the fantasy of finishing the job herself. Maybe now that the expected interruption of the delivery guy was over they could forget dinner and go to bed?

"Do you want a glass of wine or some water with dinner?" he asked from the kitchen.

Clearly he intended to eat.

Kate forced down her disappointment, moved on to Plan B instead. "Wine would be nice."

She waited for him on the couch; her foot resting on the coffee table, her robe opened to reveal the full length of her leg right to her hip.

He crossed the room to join her, two glasses and the bottle in one hand, the bag of takeout in the other, and a smile that said he knew _exactly_ what she was doing.

He shook his head. "You need to eat, because after this I may not let you out of bed until dinner time tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Count on it." He placed the bag on the coffee table beside her foot, then the bottle and glasses one at a time.

She lifted one leg to run the tip of her pointed toes along the top of her shin. "Hmmmm. I might just do that. Count, I mean."

"Is that a challenge?" Rick grinned, eyes following the slow progress of her toes.

He knelt on the floor beside her, ran his hand up the underside of her calf, rotating his grip at her knee so his fingers dipped low to caress the inside of her thigh as he approached the apex of her legs.

They'd kept their explorations on the couch relatively innocent, a wordless agreement to let their desire simmer, until it was now a constant steady burn that pooled in his belly and licked fire everywhere they touched.

The subtle shift of her hips as his hand disappeared beneath her robe had him throbbing. Somehow he tore his gaze from the expanse of leg before him to look at her face. Her victorious smile had his thumb stopping at the crease of her thigh, stroking slowly across the oh-so-soft skin before retreating.

She clamped her legs closed over his hand to still his withdrawal.

Chuckling, Rick bent to kiss her knee, and then used the hand wedged between her legs to nudge her foot off the coffee table. Ignoring her frustrated grumbling he started unpacking their containers of takeout, unable to keep the smile from his face.

"Your self control is impressive." There was no censure in her tone, and the foot that came back to creep up his jean-clad thigh told him she was happy with their game.

"And you're too goal-oriented."

"Goal- oriented? Because the man I love had his hand up my gown and I know that the world's most mind-blowing orgasm could be moments away?"

He choked out a strangled growl, clutching at her knee to halt the tease of her toes as they crept up his thigh. "My self control is slipping." He looked over at her again, the rapid rise and fall of her chest making a lie of the languorous pose she had adopted. "I love it when you show me what you want, but when you tell me..."

"Makes you hot for me, right?" she smirked at him, playful and teasing.

"Can't get much hotter, Kate." He leaned his weight into the cushioned seat and tugged her legs toward him in an attempt to bring her down alongside him. "Come eat."

"How about I _tell _you some more?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, her hands busy sliding under the collar of his shirt.

"Eat something, quickly, and then you can spend all night telling me."

"Are my options of things to eat limited to food?"

He laughed deep in his chest, slapping playfully at her hands. Snagging a container of food and a pair of chopsticks, he gave up on trying to get her to join him on the floor and, instead, moved back to the couch slipping in behind her to lean against the corner cushions and pulling her back against him.

Rick adjusted their positions so she fit in between his legs, and Kate swung her feet up onto the couch, tugging the sides of her robe closed before turning her back to lean fully against his chest. With his knees bent, feet flat on the couch, he wrapped his arms around her and offered her the carton of Chinese.

"I love this side of you," he told her, nuzzling his nose behind her ear. "If I hadn't already been totally gone, and in love with you, this would have done it."

Kate flicked a nail under the tabs to open the carton and folded back the corners. "And yet, all I'm getting is talk and no action," she sing-songed.

Rick dug around with his chopsticks, loosening the noodles and fishing for a piece of chicken. He nudged her ribs with his knee. "I've heard you like my talk. In fact, I seem to recall –"

Kate pressed her fingers hard into the nerve above his knee. "Aren't those jeans uncomfortably restrictive?"

"Very." He dangled the piece of chicken in front of her. "Now, open your mouth."

He alternated mouthfuls, feeding them both, her head resting back against his chest, fingers drawing winding trails across his lower legs. His arm rested across her slowly filling belly between bites, and she took the opportunity to play with the fine scattering of hairs that covered his forearm.

Lifting the leg of his jeans she sought the skin above his sock, pushing her hand down to bury snug against his ankle. When another long noodle waved in front of her she tilted her head back and let him wind it down onto her tongue, closing her lips over the chopsticks, and then returning to her explorations of his foot as she chewed.

At the scratch of her nails along the inside of his ankle he flexed his toes, and the line of tendons across the top of his foot stood out. Kate tried to trace them, before hooking her thumb over the sock and pulling it down and off, running her nails over the pale skin.

"What if I'm ticklish?" he spoke with his mouth against her ear.

"Are you?"

"Hmmm. Are _you_?" Rick dropped the chopsticks into the almost-empty carton and tickled his fingers up over her ribs.

Kate bit down on her lip, her head rolling to one side against his shoulder as she held back a laugh. His fingers inched higher, prodding and tickling their way up her side. She squirmed against him, her writhing movements bringing her lower back hard against his pelvis. He pushed deliberately into her, and their barely tamped arousal flooded back.

Kate held firm against him, using her hands at his knees to increase the pressure, wanting to feel the press of him at the curve of her spine.

They both held motionless for a moment, the increase in the tempo of his heart thudding at her back, and the rise and fall of his chest, only served to increase her awareness of him. His fingers twitched at her side, so close to the underside of her breast. She wanted to take his hand and guide it to her, instead she waited, exhaling slow open-mouthed breaths as his hips began an almost imperceptible rock against her.

"Rick?"

"Hmmm?"

"Dinner's finished," she said, untying the sash of her robe and letting the ends fall either side of her body. She made no further move to separate the fabric.

Rick lowered the carton of food to the floor, his eyes never leaving her body. He slid his hand immediately under the gap in the satin covering her chest, his palm fitting perfectly over the curve of her breast, while his other hand embarked on a meandering journey to map out the valleys and peaks of her body.

Kate lifted her arms above her head to anchor herself to his neck, her head falling into the curve of his shoulder, exposing her full length to him.

The hand at her breast caressed her, open palm gliding up before circling back to feel the weight of her, tweaking her nipple until she moaned out his name. She pulsed against him, lifting into his hand and then pressing back into the vee of his legs. He lowered himself further onto the couch, flattening their bodies just enough to have her weight fall onto him.

His torturously wandering hand finally found a home over the soft curve of her belly, and Kate willed him lower. She moaned at him, wordless whimpers to go with her silent chant, begging him to part her robe and touch her. Her own hands clutched at his neck, pulling his head into her, the angle preventing her from kissing him but not from mouthing at the side of his throat.

At the first hint of cool air against her breast her body twisted to follow his fingers. He pressed her back and, with both hands, he trailed the mere hint of fingertips from chest to thigh parting the satin robe and leaving a tingling trail of goosebumps in their wake.

Mutual sighs escaped, and Kate clenched her eyes closed, almost delirious in her need to have him touch her.

She sucked hard at the tender skin of his throat, until his fingers at her chin made her pull back. He shifted beneath her to bring their mouths together, kissing her roughly, his tongue hard and probing in her mouth.

She started to turn her body, intending to roll onto him, but he held her back with his hand on her hip. Instead, his splayed fingers ran down over the crease of her thigh, and he used his grip to encourage her to bend her leg, opening herself to him. She didn't hesitate, hooking her foot behind his knee for balance, panting hard into his kiss.

He didn't rush, his fingers skipping in and out of the valley at the apex of her thighs. So close to where she wanted him.

When he finally parted her folds he started low, drawing his fingers up from the curve of her cheeks. Achingly slow. They found the first slippery warmth of her arousal together, and he swirled his fingers across her in search of more.

His caress had her rocking into his fingers, searching him out, the movement bringing him closer to her centre.

Her breath caught and she bit down on his lip.

His fingers stilled.

They moaned together, chests vibrating.

It took a moment before she could release him, an even longer moment before she could think to soothe the too-hard bite with a kiss.

He moaned out her name. "Kate. You are so wet," he mumbled into her mouth.

She turned her head, sucking air into her lungs before she could speak. "I've been ready for you since you walked through the door."

His fingers made tiny circles through her folds, teasingly close, heightening her desire and sending pulsing jolts of energy to her core.

"I need to feel you," she panted, turning back to find his mouth. "I need your clothes off."

His hand held her face, helping her to twist her torso into him, stealing kisses between words heavy with need. "Not yet. I want this first."

She sought out his eyes, needing the connection that had been between them long before hands and mouths had joined. "I'll come the minute you touch me."

"Lie back," he insisted, releasing her chin and sliding his hand back to her breast. The dual onslaught was too much, and she cried out, rocking into his questing fingers, desperate for an increase in pressure.

Still he teased her, circling wide through her folds, slick and smooth, swollen with her desire. He traced across her labia, a tickling of fingers, and Kate bucked against him, following him.

"Please," she growled, throwing her head back, hands gripping tight to his thigh and the side of the couch.

She felt the tightening in her belly and he must have sensed the tension in her body. He slid two fingers down through her wetness, curling forward to plunge inside her, his thumb flicking once over her clit.

Once was all it took and she came apart around his hand; jerking up into him with a sharp cry and a shuddering of breath. He held her firm against him, his thumb still circling, fingers moving in and out through the rhythmic contractions that tugged him deeper. He kissed the side of her face and stroked his fingertips across her breast, moving his lips down along her shoulder while watching the shudder of her belly as each jolt of pleasure coursed through her.

She lay, half dazed, across his chest and let the dual caresses of his hands bring her body back to earth.

When she was finally able to move she rolled over, straddling his hips, bringing her hands to cup his face and kissing him softly.

Kate rubbed her cheek across his, kissed across his nose and then pulled back to look at him. "Next time I want to see your face."

"Are you counting yet? Because next time can be any time you're ready."

She smiled down at him. "I swear, your self control amazes me."

"It's never had a work out like this before. I'm half afraid any minute I'll embarrass us both."

"If I helped you up, could you walk to the bedroom?" she invited.

"If that's where you're going I'll give it a shot."

With a final kiss Kate pushed up off him and stood on unsteady legs. She picked the carton of Chinese food up of the floor and sat it with the rest of the untouched remains of their dinner. Rick watched her, his hand ducking through the fabric that floated around her to caress her leg.

She grinned at him, held out both of her hands towards him, and waited. He linked their hands together before dropping his feet to the ground and letting her pull him up.

He came straight into her embrace and Kate slid her palms over his chest. "I can't believe you're still dressed."

"Let's remedy that." His breath was hot against her ear as he walked her backwards towards the bedroom.

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><p>.<p>

**A/N-** It appears the next chapter will be M rated as well. I apologise for nothing.


	3. Chapter 42 Two in the Bed

Can't thank Deb enough for helping out with the Rick-appreciation in this one (plus all the other oh-so-helpful sounding board beta stuff)

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><p><strong>Erosion<strong>  
>Chapter 42 – Two in the Bed<p>

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><p>Kate had to give up the heady warmth and sweet wetness of his mouth and turn her attention to the buttons of his shirt. Her own robe fluttered over hyper-aware nerve endings and she wanted to feel the heat of his skin on hers.<p>

She had his buttons half undone before the need to feel him became too great, and she slid her hands under the tails already pulled loose from his pants while turning back to his mouth; frantic kisses with her hands gliding over hard muscle. The soft flex of his stomach, the valley that ran along the centre of his chest between far-too-tempting pecs, the shift of skin over muscle that showed with each movement of his arms; she wanted it all.

Rick let go of her hips long enough to pop the last of his buttons and wiggle his arms free of his shirt. Kate pressed into him, her relief at finally having him hard and hot against her momentarily dulled by the scratch of his belt buckle against her belly.

With his hands tangled in her hair, the softness of her breasts fitting seamlessly with the contours of his chest, she leaned her hips away just enough to fumble between them, undoing his belt and button and sliding his zipper down in a flurry of eager fingers.

He hummed low in his throat as he was released from the tight confines of his jeans. The hum become a strangled gasp at the first touch of her fingers, until finally a long, drawn out moan as she buried her hand inside his boxers and cupped him, finding him with her palm and then dragging her closed fist along him.

The need to be naked became overwhelming. Rick broke their kiss with a wet pop and pulled his jeans and boxers down his legs, stepping out of them and leaving his clothing in a tangled pile on the floor as he advanced them towards the bed.

He grinned at the feral look on her face; all wanton need and lust, and he wrapped his arms around her, slipping beneath the soft satin robe that still clung to her shoulders.

The back of her legs bumped the bed, and Kate turned him effortlessly, pushing him back to bounce down on the mattress.

She let the robe fall from her shoulders before climbing over him; her knees pressed tight alongside him, spanning his thighs. She dipped and rocked her way up his body, bending to kiss first at his hipbone, then the trail of dark hairs that ran in a line along his lower belly, and up over the curve of his ribs.

She let the peaks of her breasts brush over him, tantalising them both, and then dipped her hips to press her stomach over the length of his erection, sliding across him, tilting to trap him between their bodies.

Rick kept his hands light on her skin; allowing her progress up his body to guide the smooth caress of his hands down her back and over the flare of her hips. She'd bewitched him from the start, but as he watched her undulate her way across his body he was once again amazed by the many different facets of Kate Beckett; her undeniable strength, her vulnerabilities, her feline grace, taut muscle beneath so-soft skin. He'd never doubted that she'd be a passionate lover, but this particular side of her was something he wanted to explore much, much more.

Kate wanted to be everywhere on him. She wanted to drape herself over him, inhale him, absorb him, feel the solid strength of his body beneath her, have her hands trace his chest, taste him on her tongue.

She looked up from her appreciation of his form and found him watching her; the devotion in his eyes had the tension and desire pooling in her belly more suddenly than if he had reached out and touched her.

Supporting her weight with her hands pressed into the mattress either side of his shoulders she lowered her torso to lie against him, giving herself a moment to enjoy the feel of them together.

Brushing her lips across his nipple she turned her head to rest her cheek over the broad expanse of his chest. His heart beat loud and fast beneath her, and she felt her eyes drift closed, soothed by the rhythm.

He rolled her onto her side, encouraging her to shuffle up the bed, and pulled a pillow down to support their heads. They lay chest-to-chest, faces aligned, breath mingling, yet far enough apart to meet the other's gaze.

"Hey," she said on a whisper of breath, with a smile that sparked her eyes.

"Hey, yourself," he sighed in reply, finding her fingers and tangling them together, holding tightly, as they just breathed; soaking in the sensation of having their full lengths pressed together.

Kate moved their joined hands to her waist before angling her leg to rest over his. She hooked her knee over the curve of his hip, her foot against the back of his thigh as she opened herself to him. The hard length of his erection pressed into her and she rocked her hips, feeling him bump against her inner thigh, sliding over the oh-so-ready warmth of her centre.

With each stroke and circle of hips their eyes threatened to close, lids fluttering in time with their wordless sighs, but they refused to look away.

Strong hands slid over her to grip her arse, pull her tight against him, and they both shuddered at the sensation, breath coming hard and fast as their desire deepened.

Rick traced a slow path down over the curve of her bottom, fingers feathering, teasing at her entrance. Instead of pressing inside her he shifted his hips away, let his hand burrow up, parting her folds and making room for his erection to slide through the exquisite wet heat of her arousal.

He slid over her again, and then again, his hand encouraging the rock of her hips

"I love you," she whispered, rejoicing in her ability to say it aloud, to let him hear the truth of how much he meant to her.

For a moment his eyes fell shut, and when he opened them she could see the effect her words had on him. She couldn't break away from the heat of his gaze, lost in the emotion that transformed his face as they rocked together.

With a gentle brush of fingertips across her forehead he smoothed the hair from her face, ran his thumb across her lips, and she told him again, whispering the words into the pad of his thumb. "I love you, Castle."

His smile stole her breath; the knowledge that she could bring him joy, that her words had the same power over him as his did to her, filled her with happiness.

A sudden tilt of his hips bought him in contact with the swollen peak of her clitoris and her eyes opened wide with surprise. The leg she had draped over his hip tightened instinctively. He smiled broadly at her, enjoying the catch of her breath, and she couldn't resist the draw of his mouth, kissing away his too-pleased grin.

Rick kept his lips soft, too close to the edge to lose himself in the depths of her mouth. The pinch of her fingers across his nipple, the scratch of nails along his side brought him ever closer, and when her hand came between them, swirling over his tip he felt the heavy throb through his entire body.

"I'm so close, Kate, I want to be inside you. I want to feel you around me."

His voice was almost too much and she fell back against the pillow, eyes clamped shut. "Now. I need you now," she cried, her voice tight with arousal.

Rick leaned over her, reaching for the bedside drawers, his weight crushing her into the mattress. She wrapped her arms around his back, grunting in surprise at the heaviness of him even while pulling him tighter, her breath squeezed from her lungs.

"Sorry," he murmured to her, lifting up on one elbow.

"No, it's good," she argued, pulling him back onto her, stealing another kiss before pulling back to look at him. "I like it, and I want to feel you. Do we need them?" she asked, flicking a glance to the bedside cabinet and back to his eyes.

"We haven't talked about, and I don't mind, but I'm clean and there's been no one else."

"Yeah?" The corners of her mouth twisted up in a combination of pleasure and surprise.

"Not for so long, Kate. I haven't wanted anyone else but you."

Kate lifted her knee to create room for him between her legs. "Then let me feel you."

With his weight heavy on her chest, Rick manoeuvred over her, one hand between them, his thumb pressing deliberately over her clit, and then gripping himself, pumping once, hard, into his own hand.

Kate wrapped legs and arms around him, unable to stop the constant rock and buck of her hips as she sought to have him fill her. She felt him at her entrance and wanted him deeper.

Their gasps mingled, heads pressed together, both too far gone to make mouths move together. Panting and desperate, unable to think beyond the pulse and throb and aching need for release, they moaned together in ecstasy as he slid inside her; one long, slow press until he was hard against her.

He gave her only a moment to relax around him, tight and hot, before he pulled out, just the tip of him gripped tight as she held him inside her.

"I need more," she panted.

And then they were done with slow.

He rammed himself inside her, her sharp cry of pleasure loud over his deep growl as he felt himself, finally, surrounded by her. She tightened her legs around him, using her feet to pull against his arse and his thighs, driving him back into her, again, and again as they found their rhythm – hard and fast.

Kate felt his shudder, the sudden tense and jolt of him, and his strangled moan as he called for her, needing her with him. Her blood flushed hot through her veins, and she felt the heavy gather of her climax ripple through every point where they touched, poised to explode between them.

Sensing her there, Rick let himself rock into her, one final, deep thrust that had them both gasping. His release came hard, and she clenched around him, evidence of their mutual pleasure drawing out their climax as they shuddered together, breathless through the waves of sensation.

Spent and boneless, he relaxed over her, his head falling to her shoulder. "Please tell me we're going to do this a lot?" he said, his mouth tight against her throat.

"Oh, god, I hope so." She let her legs uncurl from around him, her hand against his lower back holding him steady inside her.

"I don't think I can move," he whispered.

"At some point I'm gonna need air," she teased him, her fingers playing at the sweat-damp hair at the base of his neck. She couldn't resist tilting her head into him, the scent of him so familiar and yet so appealingly new. "You smell so good," she murmured.

He chuckled at her, and lifted his head from her neck to find her smiling at him. "We may have worked up a sweat."

"Good thing I like you sweaty," she said, her hand trailing over his shoulder, smoothing the tiny beads of perspiration.

With a soft kiss on her lips he reluctantly rolled away, drawing a sigh from them both as he slipped out of her. He flopped gracelessly onto his back and Kate tucked herself against his side. Rick lifted his arm above her head, and Kate shifted to rest on his shoulder, her hand splayed on his chest.

"I think I may have overestimated my stamina earlier," he said, playing with the hair that tickled under his chin.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not lifting from her too-comfortable position sprawled across his side.

"I may have led you to believe there would be hours of great sex and, as much as I hate to admit it, you may have rendered me near-unconscious."

"But clearly not speechless."

His chest vibrated with his silent laugh and he rested his lips on the crown of her head. "Sleep with me?"

"I thought we'd already agreed on that?"

"Shush. Let me lay here with you. Let me fall asleep with you like this."

Kate knew she should probably go to the bathroom and clean up, should probably pack their dinner away in the fridge, even brushing her teeth would be sensible. Instead she snuggled into him, tucking her leg in the valley between his and exhaled deeply.

"I think I'm going to like sleeping with you, Rick."

A contented sigh was her only answer.

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><p>.<p>

**A/N-** i reckon making Castle speechless after sex would have to be Kate's ULTIMATE goal, wouldn't it? Like the SAS ultimate skills challenge...

Go straight from here to www. fanfiction. net/s/7859049/43/Erosion

I just didn't want to spoil it for those that cheated and read the smut first! (yeah, i know who you are!)


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